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Boiler Servicing

Making your money go further
GeoffF100
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462733

Postby GeoffF100 » December 2nd, 2021, 7:28 pm

monabri wrote:
GeoffF100 wrote:
monabri wrote:Just looking at the graph, the population adds up to more than 100%.

The percentages are of the people in each group, not the total population. AF62 seems to have made the same mistake.

Where does it tell me that ? It's a nonsense of a graph then as posted !

Under the chart. "Frequency of boiler service".

AF62
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462747

Postby AF62 » December 2nd, 2021, 8:14 pm

GeoffF100 wrote:If we trust the Consumers Association, we have to assume that they have done this competently.


I don't trust them and I don't assume they have done this competently.

If someone doesn't provide the data and their methodology, the first question has to be - what have they got to hide.

From reading their previous 'shock, horror' stories that have been designed to be picked up by the lazy press to generate Which? subscriptions they selectively pick the data to give the headline and fail to provide the detail which would enable any analysis of their conclusions.

In this case it is obvious that the age of the boiler will be a key factor as to whether a repair is needed. And yet they ignore that and simply focus on servicing, to make the fatal mistake of assuming that correlation is causation without stepping back and asking where is the actual evidence that servicing actually prevented the faults occurring and whether there was something else (like the age of the boiler) that was the issue.

stockton
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462756

Postby stockton » December 2nd, 2021, 8:52 pm

I find the graph difficult to understand. Does "needing a repair" exclude repairs done at the time of servicing ?

GeoffF100
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462758

Postby GeoffF100 » December 2nd, 2021, 9:07 pm

stockton wrote:I find the graph difficult to understand. Does "needing a repair" exclude repairs done at the time of servicing ?

I do not believe so. They really would be guilty of misrepresentation if it did.

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462874

Postby UncleEbenezer » December 3rd, 2021, 1:26 pm

GeoffF100 wrote:
stockton wrote:I find the graph difficult to understand. Does "needing a repair" exclude repairs done at the time of servicing ?

I do not believe so. They really would be guilty of misrepresentation if it did.

Grey area, shirley?

What about little tweaks that a boilerman will do when servicing a boiler, but would count as a repair if you call someone out to do it? Like when the pressure gauge drops into the red, for householders who don't have the knowledge and/or confidence to deal with that?

GeoffF100
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462888

Postby GeoffF100 » December 3rd, 2021, 2:05 pm

UncleEbenezer wrote:
GeoffF100 wrote:
stockton wrote:I find the graph difficult to understand. Does "needing a repair" exclude repairs done at the time of servicing ?

I do not believe so. They really would be guilty of misrepresentation if it did.

What about little tweaks that a boilerman will do when servicing a boiler, but would count as a repair if you call someone out to do it? Like when the pressure gauge drops into the red, for householders who don't have the knowledge and/or confidence to deal with that?

Clearly, cleaning out and adjustments as part of the service do not count as a repair. I had a gasket replaced as part of mine. Again, not a repair, because there was no extra charge. You are paying for the service in the hope that it will save money and not leave you freezing cold later on.

There are people who do not believe in servicing their cars. They just get an oil + filter change + MOT until it fails. Not many of us do that. We hope that the service will save us money and/or being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

scotview
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462891

Postby scotview » December 3rd, 2021, 2:13 pm

We're getting our boiler serviced by BG on Wednesday, the service is free of charge because the boiler is under a 5 year warranty.

OK, we pay a bit for BG cover BUT the service has been great over the years and more importantly any boiler or central heating failure has generally been sorted out within 48 hours.

My current strategy is to put in a new identical boiler in 2025 (plug and play) with a new 5 year warranty, just before the 2025 boiler ban comes into play. I'll keep the relatively new removed boiler for spares and hopefully run the new boiler for 5 years under a new warranty. That's assuming the price of gas is semi-affordable. Best laid plans of mice etc etc.
Last edited by scotview on December 3rd, 2021, 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462892

Postby UncleEbenezer » December 3rd, 2021, 2:19 pm

GeoffF100 wrote:Clearly, cleaning out and adjustments as part of the service do not count as a repair.

Whereas equally clearly, the exact same work does count as a repair if you call out a boilerman to do something other than in the context of a regular service.

I expect our Mike4 would have some idea how big that overlap in the Venn diagram might be.

GeoffF100
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Re: Boiler Servicing

#462912

Postby GeoffF100 » December 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm

There are two issues here. One is do we save money overall by having an annual boiler service. The other is do we save boiler failures in cold weather. The Which? chart (and we do not have anything better) suggests that it is marginal on cost. If you get a full service done cheaply, it is probably worth it. If you pay Worcester Bosch the top wack, probably not.

A friend recommends a local firm:

"Full Central Heating Breakdown Cover for only £11.95 per month. Covers you for all parts and labour, and any breakdown costs. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Call Centre. All gas appliances serviced for only £49 each."

He says they came out for him in cold weather. Lots of positive reviews and awards. He places great value in not having parts of his anatomy frozen off. It looks like a good deal to me, but the devil may be in the detail.


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